Discussion questions

[STEMMinist]

Q1. Early in Uncanny Valley Anna Wiener makes a comment on #womenintech that she may have been “more important to the aesthetic than critical to the business”. Do you think there is truth to this statement?

[STEMMinist]

Q2. In response to the CEO of the company telling Anna Wiener he wants more women in leadership roles in tech, she wonders whether he should start with hiring more women, or instead changing office culture. Which do you think should come first?

[STEMMinist]

Q3. “Being the only woman on a nontechnical team, providing customer support to software developers, was like immersion therapy for internalized misogyny” is a ripper chapter opener in "Uncanny Valley". Did this line resonate with you?

[STEMMinist]

Q4. Anna Wiener describes the outings to a local wine bar with the other women in the company as “less a support network and more a mutual acknowledgement”. How important are these for #womeninSTEMM in your own experience?

[STEMMinist]

Q5. In "Uncanny Valley" the author’s mother surprises her by advising her not to put complaints about sexism in writing unless she has a lawyer. Do you think there is a generational difference in response to sexual harassment?

[STEMMinist]

Q6. Anna Wiener describes the fall-out from a prominent woman engineer calling out sexism and racism in tech, and her hope at the time that this would open up the discussion across the industry & individual companies. Did this happen and what is the state of this conversation in tech today?

[STEMMinist]

Q7. In "Uncanny Valley" Anna Wiener describes attending a major women in computing conference and hearing horror stories from women engineers. Beyond outright harassment the engineers describe their code being dismissed or picked apart more than their male peers. Have you encountered this in your own sector?

[STEMMinist]

Q8. Anna Wiener describes her colleagues response to diversity & inclusion initiatives in the company and their defense of “meritocracy”. How have D&I initiatives been received in your own industry?

[STEMMinist]

Q9. In her customer support role Anna Wiener used a male pseudonym. Have you ever concealed your gender in your industry, either through your role or online? Do you think this is necessary?

[STEMMinist]

Q10. Were you surprised by anything revealed about the tech industry and start up culture described in "Uncanny Valley" ?